Fish tape ratchet winder

Abstract

A winder assembly includes a lever member that drives a hub attached to the reel of a fish tape reel assembly to wind or unwind fish tape within the reel. The lever member can be a ratchet with a handle at one end and a rotatable drive lug at the other end that engages a socket in the hub. The hub has spokes with ends that removably engage the reel so that torque from the lever member is transferred to rotate the reel with respect to its handle. The spokes can have hooks received in openings in the reel to apply torque to the reel.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 541,347, filed Feb. 3, 2004.STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0002] Not applicable. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] 1. Technical Field [0004] The present invention relates to fish tapes of the type used by electricians to pull wire through conduit or other spaces, and more particularly to a device for winding the fish tape onto a reel assembly. [0005] 2. Description of the Related Art [0006] A fish tape is a stiff but bendable wire, flexible rod or flat tape typically used to install wire in conduit, through existing walls, or other tight spaces. Because typical electrical wire is very flexible, pushing it through long lengths of conduit is virtually impossible. Pulling wire along the desired path is much more effective. In order to pull the wire, a fish tape, being more rigid than electrical wire, is first pushed along the desired pa...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011] Preferably, wherein the lever member has a curved or offset handle at a free end opposite a ratchet head. The ratchet head can have a reversible locking ball type rotatable lug, preferably being multisided to readily transfer torque to a correspondingly shaped socket at the center of the hub. The lug and socket are preferably square in cross-section and of a

Problems solved by technology

Because typical electrical wire is very flexible, pushing it through long lengths of conduit is virtually impossible.

This reel arrangement makes it somewhat difficult to wind and unwind the tape.

Given the relative rigid and springy characteristics of the fish tape, coiling the fish tape can require significant force and can be time consuming and frustrating, particularly if the fish tape binds inside of the reel.

While this greatly aids in the winding process it requires a power drill, which is large, expensive, needs external power and may not be readily available at the job site.

While this design provides significant benefits over conventional fish tape reels, the cassette feature adds expense and is generally designed for shorter length fish tape.

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